Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1826 - August 10 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1826 with a release
date of August 10 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. Curiosity is now on Mars and
there may be a way to hear its signal; hams respond to a
massive power outage in India; B-P-L is once again a problem
in the UK and guess who is thinking of running for Congress.
Find out the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report
number 1826 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

ULTIMATE DX: LISTENING FOR THE MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER
AND LANDER

Want to try your hand at some truly out of this world DX
listening? With the successful lading of NASA's rover
Curiosity on Mars, some hams are thinking of trying to catch
signals from the new rover directly or those from the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the Red Planet. Is it
possible? Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW
takes a look at the communications aspect of the mission:

--

Thanks to some research by the Southgate News, it turns out
the Curiosity rover transmits on frequencies around 401 MHz
but the transponder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or
MRO has a CCSDS Forward Frequency in the 437 MHz Amateur
Satellite Service band. This is because 435 to 438 MHz is
shared with the Military and 432 to 438 MHz is also a Space
Surveillance Radio Band. In fact, general space usage
extends beyond that.

So how does it all work? Well the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter has a UHF transponder known as MELACOM that operates
between 401 to 437 MHz. It also has a pair of patch
antennas to communicate with any landed asset on Mars
surface supporting the CCSDS Proximity-1 protocol. And with
it all working the way it has throughout this mission,
signals from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are being
received back on Earth.

While NASAs Deep Space Network has no problem in hearing the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the question might be if a ham
radio station with its simple equipment might be able to do
the same. If you want to give it a try there are two papers
from NASA that might be of assistance.

The first describes the operation of the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter. It can be found at tinyurl.com/mro-operations.
The other is titled Mars Express and the NASA landers and
rovers on Mars - Sustaining a backup relay in an
interplanetary network. Its URL is tinyurl.com/space-
communications. Both of these documents are in Adobe .PDF
format.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I,m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in
Los Angeles.

--

Oh, if you are successful in hearing either the lander or
the orbiter please be sure to record any audio you hear
along with the story of how you accomplished it. We will be
happy to share it with our listeners, world wide.
(Southgate, ARNewsline)

**

RESCUE RADIO: HAMS RESPOND TO MASSIVE INDIA POWER FAILURE

Back here on planet Earth, ham radio was called out after
the world's worst blackout in recent times cut power to 700
million people in India on July 31st.

Jayu Bhide VU2JAU is the National Coordinator for Disaster
Communication in India. He reports that the North-East grid
failed due to a fault in the plant and 20 states were
affected by the power failure.

VA2JAU said that hams in and around the affected areas
provided emergency communications during the outage. He
noted that all voice repeaters in the areas hit by the
blackout remained in operation despite the heavy duty back-
up power that was required.

Up to 20 of India's 28 states were plunged into darkness as
suppliers failed to meet the growing demand caused by heavy
demands. The blackout halted hundreds of trains, took out
traffic lights were out and caused surgical procedures to be
cancelled. Several miners were trapped underground when
their elevators failed. The blackout raised concern about
India's infrastructure. (VK3PC, VU2JAU)

**

RESCUE RADIO: GAREC 2012 PUTS OUT CALL FOR PAPERS

Delegates representing their amateur radio emergency
communications services, national societies or clubs are
being invited to submit proposals information papers and
reports. This for the 8th Global Amateur Radio Emergency
Conference or GAREC which will be held November, 12 to
14th in Port Dickson, Malaysia.

Of primary interest will be information regarding the
activities of any given group in regard to any emergency or
disaster relief operations that it may have actively
participated in from September of 2011 onwards.

The closing deadline of submission to the GAREC Secretariat
is this coming September 31st. Documents should be
submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format to
secretariat (at) mygarec2012 (dot) com. (IARU)

**

RADIO RECOGNITION: UNESCO RECOGNIZES IRESC WITH SPECIAL
CONSULTATIVE STATUS

A major coup for a relatively new ham radio emergency
communications radio group. This as the United Nations
Economic and Social Council known by the acronym UNESCO
adopts the recommendation of the Committee on Non-
Governmental Organizations to grant Special Consultative
Status to the International Radio Emergency Support
Coalition. A group better known by its initials of IRESC.

For those who may have never heard of it, the International
Radio Emergency Support Coalition bills itself as a global
coalition of volunteer communicators, with dedicated members
spread around the world providing assistance to those in
need at all times of day or night. The main objectives of
IRESC are to foster efficient collaboration between radio
amateurs, extending friendships across the world and
providing international emergency communication in times of
need when all else fail.

Currently, IRESC has members in at least 40 countries. Most
are also affiliated with national organizations such as the
International Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the United
Kingdom's RAYNET, the Israel's Magen David Adom, local
amateur radio clubs, and many other groups the world over.

The decision to grant the International Radio Emergency
Support Coalition this status was made at the recently
concluded UNESCO session held in July. More about this
important milestone for the IRESC can be found on-line at
www.irescintl.com. (9Z4FX)

**

THE BPL WAR: RSGB CONCERNED OVER PUSH TO LEGITIMIZE PLT

Broadband over Powerline called PLT in Europe is once again
raising its noise generating head and that's of special
concern to ham radio operators in the UK.

Now, the Radio Society of Great Britain has issued a
statement expressing grave concern at what it calls the
continuing headlong rush to legitimize high levels of
emission from various Broadband over Powerline devices.
This, in direct contravention of the Essential Requirements
of the nations EMC Directive.

You can read the full statement on the RSGB website at
www.rsgb.org. Simply click on Update on Draft PLT Standard.
(RSGB)

**

RADIO POLITICS: RAC ANNOUNCES NEW STRUCTURE FOR ONTARIO

Radio Amateurs of Canada has announced that as of September
1st that its current Ontario Section will be replaced by
four new Sections. These are Ontario North, Ontario East,
Ontario South, and the Greater Toronto Area. A map
depicting the new section boundries is available for viewing
at tinyurl.com/ontario-new.

Meantime, word that the American Radio Relay League has
already recognized the four new sections and they will be
effective for the ARRL November Sweepstakes contest.

Radio Amateurs of Canada adds that several vendors of
logging and contest software have also announced changes to
coincide with the new make-up of the Ontario sections.
Unfortunately, some of these will not available or effective
until January of 2013. (RAC)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: EUROPE YOUTH ON THE AIR AUGUST 19 To 26

Two European national amateur radio societies are teaming up
to give young people a chance to find out what ham radio is
all about first hand. Called Youngsters on the Air from
Belgium and the Netherlands 2012, many young radio amateurs
from nine different European countries will be participating
in contesting, direction finding competitions, a Field Day
like operation and much more.

Youngsters on the Air will be held the week of August 19th
to the 26th at a location in Belgium adjacent to the Dutch
border. The sponsors are Belgium's U-B-A Youth Commission
and the Dutch national amateur radio socirty society VERON.
For more information please contact Tommy Degrande, ON3TD,
by e-mail to tommy (at) uba (dot) be or Lisa Leenders,
PA2LS, to pa2ls (at) veron (dot) nl (ON5CFG)

**

BREAKING DX NEWS: CY9M ST. PAUL OPERATION SHUTS DOWN EARLY

The long anticipated CY9M St. Paul Island DXpedition was
forced to go QRT earlier then expected at the request of
their transport ships skipper due to a forecast of poor
weather conditions. As a result they departed from St. Paul
at about 1900 UTC on July 31st.

The good news is that in the short four and a half days of
operating, the team made over 33,000 QSO's. All contacts
will be verified electronically via Logbook of the World
once the operators return home.

Those in need of paper cards should QSL to Tim Beaumont,
M0URX. Meantime their logs are now available for viewing on
ClubLog, and we will have more DX related news later on in
this weeks Amateur Radio Newsline report. (OPDX)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the W0BZN repeater serving Newton, Kansas.

(5 sec pause here)

**

RADIO TECHNOLOGY: NXDN DIGITAL AUDIO SPEC TO BE MADE PUBLIC

Another Digital protocol will soon be available. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Jim Davis, W2JKD, has more:

--

The Southgate news reports that the technical specification
for NXDN which is an FDMA digital voice technology supported
by Icom and Kenwood, is being opened to the public domain.
According to a press release the chair of the NXDN Forum has
announced that the Forum Steering Committee has decided to
open the NXDN technical standards to the telecommunications
industry.

For the past 5 years both ICOM and Kenwood have been
producing VHF/UHF mobiles, handhelds and repeaters to the
NXDN standard. The equipment has a transmitted bandwidth of
4.0 kHz and is typically used in 6.25 kHz channel spacing
systems. NXDN Digital products are deployed throughout the
world in hundreds of thousands of professional radio
applications.

The specification is currently available in response to an e-
mail request but the NXDN Forum indicates it will be
available for direct download later in the year. Interested
companies can obtain the information for the NXDN technical
standards by following the instructions on the forum web
site at www.nxdn-forum.com/instructions

For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Davis, W2JKD

--

The NXDN Forum says that it will continue to accept new
members after opening the technical specifications and will
govern the NXDN specification and related interoperability
testing and certification. (Southgate)

**

ENFORCEMENT: FCC AFFIRMS $11000 TOWER VIOLATION FINE

The FCC says Ely Radio, licensee of KWNA - AM of Winnemucca,
Nevada must pay an $11,000 fine for various tower
violations. Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP, is
here with the details:

--

The case began in 2008 when the San Francisco office of the
Enforcement Bureau originally fined Ely Radio $13,000
because its red obstruction lights were out and the licensee
had not notified the Federal Aviation Administration of the
outage. The commission also found that Ely had apparently
and repeatedly failed to notify the FCC about a change in
ownership information for the tower.

In its appeal, Ely denied owning the tower and said it
wasn't responsible for the structure's upkeep. As a result,
the FCC sent a Letter of Inquiry to KWNA's former owner,
Sheen Broadcasting Company. In its reply Sheen confirmed
it's no longer a commission licensee. Sheen told the
commission the company sold all of the equipment used to
operate the station, including the tower, to Ely in 2006.

In its appeal, Ely urged the FCC to reverse its decision,
arguing that it's really a tenant, not an owner. It is said
was because it leases the station building and land from
Sheen. But the commission did not find that argument
credible, saying in its decision that at best, it appears
that Ely and Sheen may have a continuing disagreement about
how each of them interprets their sale agreement. That said
the FCC says that it has determined that Ely is indeed the
tower owner and that it's the only licensee using the
structure. It also claims that Ely's personnel actually
improperly extinguished the tower lights that resulted in
the fine.

Because of Ely's past history of good compliance with
commission rules, the agency lowered the original fine by
$2,000 bringing the amount to $11,000. But it says Ely
Radio must pay the fine.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Im Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in
Scottsdale, Arizona.

--

Ely Radio was given the customary 30 days to pay or to file
a further appeal. (RW, FCC)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: DIGITAL ATV PARTY AUGUST 24 - 25

The World QSO Digital Amateur Television Party takes place
on Friday August 24th and Saturday the 25th. This years
event will involve California and Arizona in the United
States, plus Australia and the British Amateur Television
Club website in the U-K.

Here in North America, Bob Minnick W8ARZ and Lee Weitzel
K0CCU, both in Arizona, will use the resources of linked ATV
repeaters. Also, K0CCU has Skype video of very high quality
and tested through the VK3RTV Digital A-T-V repeater.

The first such QSO Party organized by Peter Cossins VK3BFG
occurred during the Centenary celebrations of Amateur Radio
Victoria last year. (VK3PC)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: NCDXF RECEIVES $4000 FUNDING BOOST

The Northern California DX Foundation is the recipient of a
$4000 donation from the Northern California DX Club. This
is said to be the largest donation ever received by the
group from a club.

Of late more and more DX oriented clubs are making donations
to the Northern California DX Foundation. The organization
thoroughly analyzes the financial needs of planned
DXpeditions and helps provide critical funding to operations
high on the DX'ers Most Wanted List. Its been said that
without support many DXpeditions would not be possible.
(OPDX)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: FLORIDA RADIO CLUB SEEKS TO EXPAND MUSEUM
EXHIBIT

The Florida-based West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group Inc.
has announced the start of what it calls an ambitious
project to expand the WS4FSM exhibit at the South Florida
Science Museum. This is an exhibit that it calls "Lasting
Moments of First Excitement."

According to the group, the exhinit combines technology
available over the Internet with the world wide
communications offered by Amateur Radio. This, to lead to a
new generation of creativity and scientific advancement.

To help raise funding for the expansion the group has
launched a project on KickStarter to take its story to the
world. You can more about it on-line at tinyurl.com/palm-
beach-kickstarter.

The West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Group bills itself as the
largest amateur radio club in Palm Beach County with a
history that dates back to the 1930's. More about the group
is on the World Wide Web at www.wpbarc.com (AJ4XM)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: YU1YU ELECTED PRIME MINISTER OF SEREBIA

Some names in the news. Former Serbian Internal Affairs
Minister Ivica Dacic, YU1YU, was elected as that country's
newest Prime Minister on July 27.

Dacic is the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia. From
2008 until his election as Prime Minister he served as First
Deputy Prime Minister, as well as Minister of Internal
Affairs. In March 2012, Serbia became a candidate for
membership in the European Union.

In the world of amateur radio Dacic is a member of the
Amateur Radio Union of Serbia which is Serbia's IARU Member
Society. He is said to be a member of his local club known
by its call letters as YU1AAV.

Dacic succeeds Mirko Cvetkovic who served as Serbia's Prime
Minister from 2008 to 2012. (Southgate)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: WB4NWS REPLACES KG4IUM AS ARRL
SOUTHEASTERN VICE DIRECTOR

ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, has appointed James
Millsap, WB4NWS, of Acworth, Georgia appointed to the
position of ARRL Southeastern Division Vice Director,
effective August 1st. This after former Vice Director
Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, resigned because she has accepted a
job outside of the Division.

In a message sent to members of the Southeastern Division,
KG4IUM stated that while she is incredibly excited about her
new career and her future, it has not come without cost.
That because her move is to be outside of the division, that
she is no longer eligible to serve as Vice Director.

Hartlages replacement, Jim Millsap began his ham radio
career at age 12, operating 6 meter AM from Atlanta. Over
the years he has served as Assistant Emergency Coordinator
for Cherokee County Amateur Radio Emergency Service since
2002, was appointed ARRL Emergency Coordinator in 2010, and
has been the District Emergency Coordinator for Metro
Atlanta District since 2011. He was selected Georgia's "Ham
Operator of The Year" in 2010 for his volunteer work in
Georgia ARES. Millsap's appointment runs until noon January
1, 2014.

And for those of you who many not remember, Andrea Hartlage,
KG4IUM, was the 2004 Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the
Year. (ARRL)

**

NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE3LC APPOINTED TO CITIG 700

Norm Rashleigh VE3LC, has been appointed by Radio amateur of
Canada to serve on the Canadian Interoperability Technology
Interest Group or C-I-T-I-G 700 Mhz definition working
group. This group will help to define the network
architecture and technical interoperability requirements for
a Nation wide broadband mobile data network operating in the
700 Mhz band. VE3LC is currently on the RAC Radio Advisory
Board of Canada and has just completed a term as Vice
President Industrial Liaison. (VO1DTM/VO1DM)

**

BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the
United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline
with links to the world from our only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer
services of the following radio amateur:

(5 sec pause here)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: ECUADOR TO LAUNCH AN EDUCATIONAL
CUBESAT LOADED WITH FIRSTS

An upcoming launch of 17 amateur radio satellites will also
carry one with several firsts to orbit. Amateur Radio
Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, reports:

--

Among the birds to be lofted this November will be an
innovative educational satellite built in Ecuador and known
as NEE-01 Pegasus. This tiny 1 Unit CubeSat has a large
fold-out solar array and carries a 902 MHz, 720 line
Progressive Scan High Definition camera and associated TV
transmitter. The latter will send video of the Earth to
school students in Ecuador.

The NEE-01 Pegasus engineering team was led by Commander
Ronnie Nader who was Ecuador's first astronaut. The
satellite was featured in the July 15 edition of Ecuador's
El Murcurio newspaper. That article in electronically
translated English is on-line at tinyurl.com/Ecuador-in-
Space

Im Dom Wilbanks, AE5DW.

--

Cubesats are tiny satellites that are economical to both
build and carry to orbit making them attractive to
institutions of learning as well as to the ham radio
community. (ANS)

**

WORLDBEAT: NEW PORTUGAL REPEATER LIST AVAILABLE

A newly updated list of Portuguese analogue and digital
repeaters dated July 30th is available for download. The
listings are displayed in the Portugese language at
tinyurl.com/brhdbld courtesy of Joao Costa, CT1FBF.
(CT1FBF)

**

WORLDBEAT: UK NATIONAL RADIO CENTRE OPENS

The United Kingdom's National Radio Centre is now officially
open This after Mr. Ed Vaizey, who is the Minister for
Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries
officially opened the National Radio Centre at Bletchley
Park in Milton Keynes.

After a tour of the new building and unveiling a plaque in
the entrance, Mr Vaizey stated that the Centre will do an
enormous amount to spread the knowledge about the history of
radio and its continuing importance in the 21st century.

The National Radio Centre is open Thursdays, Saturdays and
Sundays from 11.00 to 16:30 local UK time. More details,
and photographs of the event, can be found on-line at
www.nationalradiocentre.com (GB2RS)

**

RADIO HISTORY: MARCONI CHELMSFORD SITE TO BE RE-DEVELOPED

The BBC reports that the Marconi New Street factory in the
United Kingdom city of Chelmsford is to be redeveloped after
being left derelict for several years.

Marconi New Street was the world's first purpose designed
and built wireless factory. It was opened in June 1912 by
radio pioneer Guillermo Marconi and where he carried out his
research work and built a large electronics and
telecommunications business. It also provided housing for
many of those who were employed by Marconi.

According the BBC that business dissolved in 2006 and the
building has stood empty since 2008. The new owners says
that it wants to build homes, offices, shops and community
facilities at the site, which covers about 10 acres near
Chelmsford city center but also retain and refurbish the
main 1912 Marconi building for office space.

You can read the entire story on-line at Read the BBC story
at tinyurl.com/marconi-factory. (WIA News)

**

DX

In DX, the International Telecommunications Union has
updated its Table of International Call Sign to reflect a
call sign change for the island of Niue which will now have
the entire E6 prefix block. Prior to the change the island
used ZK2 callsign prefix.

On the air, word that a team of European operators will be
active as D64K from the Comoros Islands through August 20th.
Their license covers from 160 to 6 meters, so they hope to
be active on all bands and modes and were even considering
the possibility of working on 60 and 6 meters. They will
have four stations on the air using Elecraft transceivers,
amplifiers and at least two Spiderbeams and several vertical
antennas. The QSL Manager for this operation is IV3DSH.

DJ7RJ will once again be active stroke FR from Reunion
Island as between September 26th and October 21st. His
operation will be on 160 through 10 meters using, CW and
SSB, and he will pay special attention to the low bands for
United States and Japan. QSL direct to his home callsign.

DG5LAC will be active stroke P from Amrum Island between
August 11th and the 24th. His operation will be holiday
style on 80 through 10 meters SSB. Log will be uploaded to
Logbook of the World and eQSL when he returns home. QSL via
his home callsign, direct or by the Bureau.

A team of Saudi operators will activate Al-Dhahrah Island as
7Z7AB between October 5th to the 11th. More details and a
Web page will be forthcoming. Meantime you can see their
logo on QRZ.com.

Lastly, listen out for an all Y L DXpedition to be active as
GB2YLS from Fair Isle between August 16th to the 22nd.
Their activity will be on the HF bands using CW and SSB.
They also plan to be operational as an entry in the
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend scheduled for
August 18th and 19th from the Fair Isle South Lighthouse.
QSL via MM5YLO, either direct or via the bureau.

Above from various DX news sources

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: JOE WALSH WB6ACU SAYS HE IS THINKING ABOUT
RUNNING FOR CONGRESS

And finally this week, famed rock guitarist Joe Walsh,
WB6ACU, has joked about running for political office since
way back in 1980. That's when he ran a tongue in cheek
campaign for the presidency. Now it appears as if Joe has
decided to take politics more seriously, and according to a
new radio interview, he could run for Congress. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has the details:

--

In a recent discussion aired over WASH-FM in Washington DC,
famed rock guitarist Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, said, and we quote:
"I think I would run seriously, and I think I would run for
Congress."

Walsh went on to tell WASH that: "The root of the problem
is that Congress is so dysfunctional. We're dead in the
water until Congress gets to work and passes some new
legislation to change things."

Walsh believes he could represent the concerns of real
people better than politicians who live in a different world
to the rest of the country. He said that he thinks that if
you pay attention to Congress and vote for people from where
we're all from, and if we can elect people who are not
politicians that are from where we're from, that he thinks
we can get something done.

Walsh added - and again we quote: "So I might run for
Congress and see if I can stir up the hornets."

Meanwhile, WB6ACU is touring his new solo album "Analog
Man" at intimate venues nationwide. And of coarse you can
always hear his playing the opening theme at the beginning
of each episode of Ham Nation on TWiT.tv.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in
Zion, Illinois.

--

For those interested in hearing all of what WB6ACU has to
say, take your web browser to ultimateclassicrock.com/joe-
walsh-to-run-for-congress. Then scroll down until you see
the window containing the actual interview and click the
arrow key to make it play.

(ultimateclassicrock.com)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX
Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, the Southgate
News, Twit-TV, and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from
the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is newsline
(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is available at
Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or support us
at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue, Santa
Clarita California, 91350

Before we go this note to those of you who still receive
these newscasts over our 661-296-2407 dial in telephone line
rater than downloading the MP3 file from our website. Of
late we have noticed a major decline in the number of those
calling into it and as such we are giving consideration to
discontinuing it by years end. But before we do, we want to
know how many people are actually using 661-296-2407. If
you are one of those who call in each week on the phone,
please send us a note telling us who you are and the reason
you are using telephone access rather than simply
downloading the newscast from the Internet.

As we just said, our address is the Amateur Radio Newsline,
28197 Robin Avenue, Santa Clarita, California, 91350. Or
you can e-mail us at newsline (at) arnewsline (dot) org. We
look forward to hearing from you.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors' desk,
I'm Jeff Clark, K8JAC, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights
reserved.

Amateur Radio Newsline T Report 1817 - June 8 2012

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1817 with a release
date of June 8, 2012 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. A famed German DXer is arrested
in Greece but nobody seems to know why, including Greece.
Also, medical wireless network to operate adjacent to ham
radio satellites on 13 centimeters; Malaysia says emergency
agencies should embrace amateur radio and a primer on
International lighthouse and lightship weekend. Find out
the details are on Amateur Radio NewslineT report number
1817 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)


**

RADIO LAW: FAMED GERMAN DX'ER DJ6SI ARRESTED IN GREECE


In what has to be one of the strangest international legal
issues involving a ham radio operator, famed German
DXpedition leader Baldur Drobnica, DJ6SI, has been arrested
in Greece. But in a strange turn of events he was permitted
to return to Germany if he promised that he would come back
to Greece for trial. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, is in the newsroom trying to sort it all
out:

--

Let me start by saying that it is very hard to know what has
really taken place because most of the news sources are
foreign language ham radio blogs and other news reports that
have been electronically translated into English. Also, as
we go to air there comes a purported statement in German
from the person in the center of the controversy, DXer
Baldur Drobnika, DJ6SI. It was posted to QRZ.com by YO4PX
after being translated by DK5KF. As that is the latest
information, lets start there and then take a look at the
rest of the story as it seemed to unfold.

The statement credited to DJ6SI reads as follows:

"June 3rd, 2012, 20:46 (UTC 2)

Dear Michael,

I wasn't charged with espionage. As a reason of my arrest it
was stated that:

1. I performed radio traffic without the approval of the
Greek authorities;

2. I owned transmitting equipment which enabled the
reception of other frequencies;

To the accusation was later added an other point:

I hindered the visualization of the content of my notebook.

I would like to ask you to eliminate the information that I
was arrested for espionage, or to replace it with my
statement.

Vy 73 Baldur DJ6SI"

Now, the back story:

According to news reports, 75 year old Baldur Drobnica,
DJ6SI was on holiday on the Greek island of Kos. That's
where he was reportedly taken into custody for the crime of
espionage which was quickly reduced to operating amateur
radio equipment. This, even though both Greece and
Drobnika's home country of Germany are both signatories to
the CEPT pan-European Amateur Radio licensing agreement.

Even so, Greek news reports appear to indicate DJ6SI was
actually arrested under a 1929 Greek law covering illegal
operation of radio telegraph equipment even though the CEPT
agreement would likely superscede the older law.

According to Greek ham radio blogs the accusation of
espionage was based on a complaint that he was "producing
strange noises" with his computer. Those strange noises
turned out to be CW and RTTY. This was corroborated by many
who notice reports of his operation on Internet-based DX
spotting clusters.

Quite quickly the espionage charge appeared to disappear and
the reduced charge under the 1929 law implemented. And in a
strange turn of events, DJ6SI was permitted to return to
Germany but he was told that he must return to Greece to
stand trial on June 7th. That hearing is likely taking
place as this newscast goes to air. But as several Greek
hams have pointed out, DJ6SI would have not been permitted
to leave the country if there were any real case or even a
suspicion that he was engaged in spying activities.

And one Greek ham radio blog took the matter a lot further.
The Radio Amateur Association of Greece issued an angry
statement defending DJ6SI. It claims that the
responsibility for the entire matter should be placed on the
to the shoulders of the officer that ignored laws and
regulations, arrested DJ6SI and led him to court. They also
place blame on the prosecutor who they say was quick to
suggest his conviction based on a law passed in 1927, in
the year 2012.

The hams also point out that radio amateurs have been
complaining for years to the responsible Ministry that
public services and institutions and particularly police
have not been informed properly about ham radio. The
association says that it's the governments duty to inform
all relevant authorities about amateur radio and its
operations.

Obviously. This story is far from over.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF,
in the Newsroom in Los Angeles.

--

You can read the Aegea News report in Google English at
tinyurl.com/DJ6SI-Aegea-News. An article by Greek amateurs
protesting Drobnika's arrest is at
www.radiofono.gr/node/3251 (SV5YR, DK5KF, YO4PX,
RadioInfo.gr, QRZ.com, others)

**

RESCUE RADIO: MALAYSIA SAYS EMERGENCY AGENCIES SHOULD WORK
WITH HAMS

Emergency Agencies in Malaysia should work with Radio
Amateurs. So says that nations Information Department
director-general Ibrahim Abd Rahman.

Director-general Rahman has been quoted in the Straits Times
newspaper as saying that integration between the two should
be encouraged as it helped the agencies to build good
rapport and teamwork spirit.

Rahman said that agencies like the Fire and Rescue
Department, Civil Defense, police, the Malaysian Red
Crescent Society, hospitals, the Royal Malaysian Air Force
and the Department of Civil Aviation should work together
with amateur radio operators. He notes that hams could be
the key to communicate with people in distress and,
therefore, a collaboration between government agencies and
amateur radio users should be intensified.

You can read the entire story of Malaysia's new emergency
response proposal to include ham radio in its emergency
communications system on-line at tinyurl.com/malaysian-
emcomm. (Straits Times)

**

RESTRUCTURING: NEW BANDS MADE AVAILABLE IN POLAND

Some new spectrum for hams in Poland. Pawe3 Zakrzewski,
SP7TEV, reports via the I-A-R-U Region One website that the
Regulation of the Council of Ministers from April 3rd and
published in the Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland
on May 17th has made available several new bands. These
include 70.1 to 70.3 MHz on a secondary basis with a power
limit of 20 watts.

Also available to radio amateurs will be 2.400 to 2.450
Gigahertz without causing interference to the other services
in line with the article number 5 of the ITU Radio
Regulations. Lastly is 3.400 to 3.410 Gigahertz on a
secondary basis, with no more than 20 watts effective
radiated power.

The changes to Poland's National Table of Allocation of the
Radio Frequency Spectrum will come into effect on June 1st.
(IARU R-1)

**

RESTRUCTURING: BAND COVERAGE CHANGES IN DENMARK

The Danish regulator the ERST has announced the availability
for of 5250 to 5450 kHz and 472 to 479 kHz and an expansion
to 70 MHz to that nation's amateur radio service.

Effective this past June 1st, the pilot program at 5 MHz
ceased. It was replaced by the new permanent allocation of
5250 to 5450 kHz. This spectrum can be used by that
nation's A certificate holders at a power level of up to
1000 watts and B certificate holders at up to 100 watts out
using all modulation types. Previously issued trial
licenses are valid until their expiration date.

Additionally ERST announced an expansion of 70 MHz which
will become 69.9375 to 70.0625 MHz, 70.0875 to 70.1125 MHz
and 70.1625 to 70.5125 MHz. No changes were implemented to
the current modes and power levels for this band.

Lastly, Denmark will also open a new amateur radio band at
from 472 to 479 kHz as of January 1, 2013. (ERST)

**

RESTRUCTURING: NEW LOW FREQUENCY BAND IN MONACO

The telecommunications regulator of the Principality of
Monaco has allocated the band segment of 472 to 479 kHz to
its amateur service. This is on a secondary status basis
and limited to a maximum power of one watt effective
radiated power. (GB2RS)

**

RESTRUCTURING: SA AGREEMENT FOR HAM RADIO AT YOUTH DAY
EVENT

The South African Radio League has signed an agreement with
telecommunications regulator the Independent Communications
Authority of South Africa that will allow unlicensed persons
to operate an amateur radio station under the supervision of
a licensed radio amateur. This without the need to register
as an educational station.

The agreement comes in time for implementation for the June
16th South Africa Youth Day event. Both SARL and ICASA look
at this agreement as a further incentive to set up a
demonstration station, involve more young people in the
youth day sprint and show the average man in the street how
great amateur radio is. (SARL)

**

BREAK 1

From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world
including the W4GR repeater serving Sumter, South Carolina.


(5 sec pause here)


**

RESTRUCTURING: MED ELECTRONICS TO OPERATE ADJACENT TO
HAMSATS 13 CM

Medical electronics will soon be operational adjacent to ham
radio in the 13 centimeter band. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, has more:

--

The ARRL and AMSAT are reporting on a First Report and Order
and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released by the
FCC on May 24. In it the regulatory agency decided to
expand the Part 95 Personal Radio Service rules to allow
medical devices to operate on a secondary basis in the
spectrum from 2360 to 2400 MHz.

The new allocation came in a Report and Order on ET docket
08-59 and is specific for Medical Body Area Networks. These
provide a way for health care facilities to monitor their
patients without confining them to wired hookups.

The use of these frequencies will be on a secondary basis.
This means that Medical Body Area Networks stations will not
be allowed to cause interference to, and must accept
interference from, any primary services using the spectrum.
This includes amateur radio which operate on a terrestrial
primary basis in the 2390 to 2395 and 2395 to 2400 MHz
bands. International amateur satellite operations are
allocated between 2400 to 2450 MHz, which is adjacent to the
new medical devices shared spectrum.

For the amateur Radio newsline, I'm Cheryl Lasek, K9BIK, in
Zion, Illinois.

--

The assignment of this new medical service to the to the
shared 13 centimeter band was not much of a surprise to
those who have been following the communications politics
taking pace in Washington of late. (ARRL, ANS)

**

RADIO PLANNING: ARRL BOD APPROVES NEW 9CM BANDPLAN

The ARRL Board of Directors has unanimously voted to approve
a news 9 centimeter band plan. This, as presented to it by
the League's UHF and Microwave Band Plan Committee.

In its findings, the committee recognized that local
conditions or needs may necessitate deviations from a band
plan. Also that regional frequency coordinating bodies may
recommend alternatives for use in their respective regions.

Several interesting notes about the new bandplan include an
advisory that weak signal terrestrial legacy users should be
encouraged to move to 3400.3 to 3401.0 MHz, as time and
resources permit. Also that broadband segments may be used
for any combination of high-speed data, amateur television
and other high-bandwidth activities. Division into channels
and or separation of uses within these segments may be done
regionally, based on need and usage.

The new plan also notes that per I-T-U Radio Regulation
5.149 that in some regions these band segments are also used
for Radio Astronomy. As such, amateur radio use of these
frequencies should be first coordinated with the National
Science Foundation.

Earlier this year, the committee asked radio amateurs for
comments on a proposed 9 cm band plan. At that time it
explained that the purpose of these band plans is to share
information about how the amateur spectrum is being used
and to suggest compatible frequency ranges for various types
of application. (ARRL)

**

RADIO LAW: FCC DENIES CALL IDENTIFICATION CHANGE REQUEST

The FCC has again denied a rule making petition from Glen
Zook, K9STH, of Richardson, Texas. One that requested that
Section 97.119(a) of the Commission's Rules be amended to
include an exception to the station identification rule.

Accorsding to the FCC, Section 97.119(a) provides that an
amateur station must transmit its assigned call sign on its
transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and
at least every 10 minutes during a communication.

In his petition Zook asserted that the requirement that a
station transmit its assigned call sign at the end of each
communication is routinely violated by amateur operators.

The FCC says that Zook proposed to address this by adding to
Section 97.119(a) which was an exception formerly contained
in the Commission's regulations pertaining to the Amateur
Radio Service. Specifically, K9STH requested that the rule
be amended to provide that if an amateur station transmits
its call sign during its first transmission, the call sign
need not be transmitted at the end of the communications if
the total communication is less than three minutes. Zook
referred to this as the "3-minute rule."

In denying Zook's request the FCC noted that his proposal to
reinstate the "3-minute rule" was dismissed twice in the
last five years. It says that his latest petition sets
forth no new facts or changed circumstances warranting
further consideration of the proposal. As such, the FCC
concludes that the current petition is repetitive and as
such it is being dismissed. (FCC)

**


FCC NEWS: SEAN LEV NAMED NEW FCC GENERAL COUNSEL

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius
Genachowski has announced that Sean Lev, currently Deputy
General Counsel and Special Advisor to the Chairman, will
become FCC General Counsel. This after Austin Schlick
announced his decision to step down as the agency's General
Counsel, effective mid-June.

According to his bio, Lev came to the FCC from the
Department of Energy, where he served as the Acting General
Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for Environment and
Nuclear Programs. Before joining the D-O-E in June 2009,
Lev was a partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans &
Figel, where his practice focused on telecommunications,
administrative law, and appellate and general litigation.
(FCC)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: HAM RADIO AT THE 2012 MENSA ANNUAL
CONVENTION

The 2012 Mensa Annual Gathering and National Convention will
be held July 4th through the 8th in Reno, Nevada. During
the gathering, the on-line Mensa amateur radio special
interest group will be sponsoring the Special Events Station
N-7-M. According to Bil Munsil, K1ATV, of Mesa, Arizona,
there will be field day-type operation from the parking
structure on top of the Silver Legacy resort. There also
may be a 2 meter station and possibly an amateur fast scan
ATV station in the lobby of the Reno Ballroom. More about
the Mensa convention is on-line at www.ag.us.mensa.org.
(K1ATV)

**

HAM HAPPENINGS: FOX CITIES ARC TO COMMEMORATE AIRVENTURE
2012

Jon Oldenburg. AB9AH, tells Newsline that the Fox Cities
Amateur Radio club will once again be hosting a special
event amateur radio station at the EAA Airvenute 2012. This
from July 25th to the 29th.

Station W9ZL will operate each day from 1500 to 0000 UTC
from the Airventure venue in Oshkosh Wisconsin. Stations
will be active on 7.250 and 14.250 MHz SSB. Also on 52.550
MHz FM.

For a commemorative please QSL with a large self addressed
stamped envelope to FCARC AirVenture 2011, PO Box 2346,
Appleton Wisconsin, 54912.

According to AB9AH this will be the 19th year that the Fox
Cities club will be hosting this commemorative Airventure
station event. (AB9AH)

**

HAMVENTION 2012: OFFICIAL FIGURE SAYS OVER 24000 ATTENDED
THIS YEAR

The numbers are out and they show conclusively that
attendance at the Dayton Hamvention is on the rise. Amateur
Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has more:

--

The official attendance of Hamvention 2012 reached 24,483.
This good news was announced by 2012 Hamvention General
Chairman Mike Kalter, W8CI, at the Dayton Amateur Radio
Association meeting Friday night, June 1st.

According to Kalter, this was an increase over last year.
He attributed it in part to the excellent weather during
Hamvention weekend.

W8CI also noted that many vendors reported excellent sales
during the three days of Hamvention. Also that many
restaurants, hotels and motels also reported increased
sales. This contributing to an estimated $10 million
economic impact for the region.

For the first time this year, a $3 Dayton Attractions Tour
Shuttle ran from Hara's main entrance Friday and Saturday.
Stops included the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force,
Wright Dunbar Interpretive Center, the Dayton Aviation
Heritage National Historical Park and Carillon Park.

In his address to the club, Kalter said that Hamvention
would not be possible without the 500 plus volunteers who
manage every aspect of the event. For those not aware, the
Dayton Hamvention is the largest amateur radio gathering in
the world and one of the largest events of its type operated
entirely by volunteers.

Planning is already beginning for the 62nd Hamvention which
will be held at Hara Arena May 17, 18 and 19, 2013. We plan
to be there and hope that you will be too.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Wilbanks AE5DW, in
southern Mississippi.

--

And one side note. Not to be forgotten was a high altitude
balloon launch that was again part of Hamvention activities.
The two-hour flight reached an altitude over 87,000 feet and
landed in a pasture approximately eight miles southwest of
the Hara Arena launch point. Ironically, the pasture was
owned by a ham, Donald Fourman, AB8OS. (DARA)

**


BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the
United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline
with links to the world from our only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the volunteer
services of the following radio amateur:

(5 sec pause here)

**

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD: VHF/UHF EXPERT EUGENE ZIMMERMANN,
W3ZZ - SK

We seem to say it more and more of late, but the changing of
the guard in amateur radio continues with word of the
passing of VHF and UHF expert Eugene Zimmerman, W3ZZ.

Zimmermann, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away on
Sunday, June 3rd, was likely best known in ham radio circles
as the author of the popular QST column "The World Above 50
MHz" that he wrote from 2002 to 2011. He also served on
the ARRL Contest Advisory Committee, edited the VHF
contesting column for CQ Contest magazine during its five-
year lifespan and was director of the CQ VHF Contest from
2000 through 2002.

First licensed in 1956, Zimmerman earned the coveted VUCC
award on 50, 144, 222, 432, 903 and 1296 MHz, as well as
DXCC, Worked All States and Worked All Continents on 6
meters. He also logged several national Top-10 finishes in
the ARRL November Sweepstakes as well as a second-place
North American finish in the CQ World Wide CW Contest
operating from VP2MDD. W3ZZ also placed in the Top 10
several times in the ARRL VHF QSO Parties and in the ARRL
VHF Sweepstakes.

Zimmerman was an ARRL Life member. He earned a PhD in
Microbiology from the University of Maryland in 1968. He
began his professional career at the National Institutes of
Health where he spent a year as a technician studying
respiratory viruses. This experience sparked an interest in
virology and conquering the common cold. After this, he
conducted early research at National Institutes of Health,
studying the relationship between retroviruses and cancer,
the use of the simian model for studying leukemia and the
use of interferon as an immune system modulator.

In 1976, he joined the National Institutes of Health Grants
Associate Program, which groomed promising scientists for
careers in managing N-I-H research programs. Zimmerman was
then recruited to be the Scientific Review Administrator of
the Allergy and Immunology Study Section of the
Immunological Sciences Integrated Review Group, where he
evaluated research proposals to provide funds for research
in immunology.

Eugene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, was a member of the Delmarva VHF and
Microwave Society, the Grid Pirates Contest Group, a Past
President of the Potomac Valley Radio Club and an honorary
member of the Connecticut Wireless Association.

As we go to air memorial services had not yet been
announced. At the time of his passing Gene Zimmermann,
W3ZZ, was age 71. (ARRL)

**

WORLDBEAT: 2012 OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY TRACKED ON APRS

The 2012 Olympic Torch Relay route is being tracked on the
APRS.fi web site. To see it go to http://aprs.fi/ and enter
Torch2012 in the Track Callsign field. Also information on
the Worked All Britain Follow the Torch Award is on-line at
www.worked-all-britain.co.uk. (GB2RS)

**

WORLDBEAT: SPECIAL CENTENIARY CALL FOR WIA

2012 is the Centenary of the Wireless Institute of Australia
being established in the State of Queensland. The special
Centenary callsign, VK-100-WIQ, was activated on June 1st
and will be active through July 31st by way of the W-I-A
affiliated radio clubs in Queensland. There is also a
Centenary QSL card and a Centenary award available. Details
can be found at www.wia.org.au. (WIA)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: LISTEN TO HORYU-2 ON THE WWW

YO8SSQ and YO8TLC have made available a web based receiver
to enable listeners to hear the new HORYU-2 amateur radio
satellite. This when the new bird is within range of
Romania.

The WebSDR receiver is located at the Astronomical
Observatory Department of the University in Suceava. That
in grid locator KN 37 at a height of 350 meters above sea
level.

The hardware consists of two SDR receivers which are fed
into 48 kHz sound cards on an AMD Sempron 2600+ computer
running Vector Linux. The web page displays a track showing
the current position of HORYU-2. It also provides coverage
of the 3.65 to 3.710 MHz portion of the 80 band.

You can listen to the HORYU-2 and 80 meter WebSDR receivers
at tinyurl.com/sdr-sat-receiver

(HORYU-2 TEAM)

**

DX

In DX Word from the ARRL that 2012 XX9E operation from Macao
has been approved for DXCC credit. If you worked that
operation you can submit it for DXCC.
On the air, ON8ZZ, ON3JA and ON3NT will be active as MU
stroke OT9Z from Guernsey between July 16th to the 20th.
During their stay on Guernsey, they plan to activate Herm
Island on the 17th, Sark Island on the 18th and Alderny
Island on the 19th. The group will then head south to be
active from Chausey Island between July 27th and the 29th
using the call F/OT9Z from . QSL all operations via OT9Z.

OE4JHW reports that he will do a suitcase DXpedition to
Kuredu Island between September 2nd and the 4th. More
details including the QSL route will be forthcoming in the
near future.

AC8G who was planning a 6 night stay in Grenada for the CQ
WW SSB Contest, October 27th and 28th, has announced that
the airline that was to transport him has cancelled his
flight. Other dates offered were not acceptable, so he has
terminated his plans the operation.

DL9WVM, will once again be active portable A6 from Dubai
through June 30th. . His activity will be on 80 through 10
meters. QSL via Logbook of the World or via his home
callsign, direct or by the bureau.

DL2RMC is also on the air slash A6 from Abu Dhabi which
started around May 29th. He will be there for 3 weeks
depending on his job in United Arab Emerites. QSL as
directed on the air.

Lastly N0TG has announced a 2013 operation to Sint Maarten
between
March 15th to the 23rd. He states that he has the facility
arranged, as well as tickets, and all other aspects required
so you can look for N0TG, AA4VK and N1SNB to sign slant PJ
during that operation. Activity will probably be on all
bands and modes. QSL's all three callsigns will go via N0TG.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: A PRIMER ON ILLW

And finally a bit of ham radio history on International
Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend. From down-under here's
Felix Scerri, VK4FUQ:

--

The 15th annual International Lighthouse and Lightship
Weekend in August has inspired many to register early with
32 countries and nearly 250 registered already.

Although this is just over half of the countries normally
attracted by the event it is slightly ahead of expectations
with ten weeks to go.

The weekend increases the public awareness of lighthouses
and lightships and their need for them to be preserved,
promotes amateur radio and fosters international goodwill.

The event was started mainly by late Mike Dalrymple GM4SUC
and the Ayr Amateur Radio Group in 1995 as the Northern
Lighthouse Activity Weekend with stations at Scottish
lighthouses. It quickly went international.

The third weekend in August coincides with the worldwide
lighthouse open day organized by the Association of
Lighthouse Keepers that sees public access to many of the
featured lighthouses.

During the weekend a group or individual sets up an amateur
station at or adjacent to a lighthouse, lightship or marine
beacon that is listed.

To register, complete a short online form, read the event
rules and have lots of fun. You will see complete statistics
on past events, reports from previous years and ILLW are on
Facebook too.

--

This year's International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
is slated for August 18th and 19th and runs 48 hours. If
you have access to a lighthouse or lightship you want to
activate, you can register for the event on-line at
www.illw.org. (WIA News)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the CGC
Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio Penn DX
Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the RSGB, TWIT.TV, the
Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A News, that's all from
the Amateur Radio NewslineT. Our e-mail address is
newsline(at) arnewsline (dot) org. More information is
available at Amateur Radio Newsline'sT only official website
located at www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or
support us at Amateur Radio NewslineT, 28197 Robin Avenue,
Santa Clarita California, 91350

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the editors desk,
I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, saying 73 and we thank you for
listening.

Amateur Radio NewslineT is Copyright 2012. All rights
reserved.

1984 - Big Brother and Apple

Apple is developing software that will sense when a smartphone user is trying to record a live event, and then switch off the device's camera. Anybody holding up their iPhone will find it triggers infra-red sensors installed at the venue.

These sensors would then automatically instruct the iPhone to shut down its camera function, preventing footage from being recorded. Only the iPhone's camera would be temporarily disabled; other features, such as texting and making calls, would still work.

Apple filed a patent application 18 months ago in Calfornia. It has just come to light after being obtained by The Times. Such a development would be welcomed with open arms by many concertgoers, fed up with their view being blocked by a sea of glowing mobile phone screens.

However, the real reason Apple is developing the technology is to placate broadcasters upset that members of the public are posting footage of events on websites including YouTube when they have bought the exclusive rights.

Many of these firms sell their own recordings of high-profile events, including Glastonbury and Wimbledon, and dislike being pipped to the post by reams of amateur footage online.

Assisting record companies in this manner is likely to help Apple secure more favourable terms with labels when negotiating deals to place music for sale on its iTunes website. It could also potentially provide Apple with another source of revenue by charging people to film live events.

As the App store has become under complete control, Apple has become Big Brother as depicted in George Orwell's 1984. Apple's famous commercial in 1984 on breaking through Big Brother as a metaphor of the introduction of the Macintosh has reversed the metaphor for their own benefit. Apple has become awfully paranoid and vastly restrictive towards it's users and consumers in general. We're just not surprised -- this type of foolish, petty, and capricious behavior from Apple has sadly become par for the course with Apple.